I make this dinner in about 15 minutes flat, so it’s great for those days (and there’s plenty of them!) when I’m too exhausted to make a more substantial meal. For a variation, substitute the snow peas with bok choy (pak choy).

Ingredients

Quantity

Ingredient

250g

buckwheat soba noodles

1.5 litres

reduced-salt chicken stock, (see note)

2 tablespoons

reduced-salt soy sauce

or 2 tablespoons

tamari

1

whole star anise

2

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon

ginger, finely grated

1 tablespoon

brown sugar, (optional)

360g

chicken breast fillets, thickly sliced

200g

snow peas, shredded

or 200g

green beans, shredded

2

spring onions, trimmed and sliced

Method

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

Place the stock, soy sauce, star anise, garlic, ginger and sugar (if using) in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the chicken and snow peas, and simmer for 5–7 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

To serve, divide the noodles among serving bowls. Pour over the hot soup and garnish with spring onion.

Note

If you prefer your snow peas raw and crunchy, simply pop them on top of the soup just before serving.

Baby’s serve

For a younger baby, blend the soup until smooth, using as much of the liquid as needed to achieve the desired consistency. For an older baby, keep the blended texture lumpier or simply serve some of the chicken, noodles and snow peas as finger food, without the broth. You may like to cut the snow peas into larger pieces, or not at all, so they’re easier to hold.

Toddler’s serve

Serve as for an older baby or as is, with a short-handled spoon.

Note

When making soups for your children, always use a reduced-salt, preferably home-made, stock. Babies’ developing kidneys, in particular, can’t handle much salt and it can cause them to become dehydrated.